Part 1 - Five women -- Palestinian, American, Muslim, Christian, and Jewish -- tell stories of humiliation and harassment by Israeli border guards and airport security officials.
e shtunë, mars 22, 2008
Cheney’s “peace” trip to Middle East prepares new wars
US Vice President Dick Cheney, during a trip to the Middle East aimed at consolidating Washington's position in its ongoing wars of aggression and preparing new ones, gave vent Wednesday to his utter contempt for the will of the American people.
Veton Surroi on Kosovo
The Kosovar statesman and publisher explains why the EU is a hostage to the new country's transitional period. ( AUDIO)
e premte, mars 21, 2008
PARENTS IN GAZA BURY THEIR DEAD SON … FIND HIM ALIVE 2 WEEKS LATER
The family had been mourning for 16-year-old Ahmed Abu Salamah. What was left of what was thought to be his body had been buried. After two weeks of mourning, they found Ahmed alive in the intensive care unit at Gaza City's al-Shifa Hospital.
But a boy had been buried. And, a family had spent two weeks outside the intensive care unit, believing the boy inside was theirs. It was their boy who had died.
Bankers Banks On Albania
 | |
Kosovo PM admitted attrocities, prosecutor
UN personnel feared for their lives in Kosovo while some of the judges presiding over the Hague Tribunal for former Yugoslavia were in fear from Kosovo Albanians that have committed atrocities against Serbs and that is why very few cases of Kosovo Albanian war criminals have been prosecuted, writes Carla Del Ponte, former Chief Prosecutor of the UN Tribunal, in her new book.
e enjte, mars 20, 2008
Serbia PM Slams Kosovo Military Aid
Belgrade _ Serbia’s caretaker prime minister described a decision by the United States' President to send military aid to Kosovo as 'utterly wrong' and aimed at creating a NATO puppet state in the region.
Bush OKs supplying arms to Kosovo
President George W. Bush authorized Wednesday supplying Kosovo with weapons, signaling the establishment of government-to-government relations after recognizing its independence, the White House said.
Posted Mar 20, 2008 08:07 AM PSTCategory: CURRENT EVENTS
Why is it okay for Kosovo to be independent, but not Palestine?
RIGHT ON TIME! BIN LADIN "THREATENS" WHOLE OF EUROPE...
RIGHT ON TIME! BIN LADIN "THREATENS" WHOLE OF EUROPE...
RIGHT ON TIME! BIN LADIN "THREATENS" WHOLE OF EUROPE......
Posted Mar 20, 2008 08:24 AM PSTCategory: COVER-UP/DECEPTIONS
Gerdec: The price Albania paid to supply the Afghan Army
Gary Q. Kokalari
Subj: AEY/Meico/Evdin/Afghanistan Date: 3/9/2008 11:56:54 P.M. Eastern
Daylight Time From: _GQKokalari_ (mailto:GQKokalari) To: _irama@_
(mailto:irama@l) CC: _darre@doj_ (mailto:darre@doj) , _Cristina@state_
(mailto:Cristina@state) , _michaelr@doj_ (mailto:michaelr@doj) , _mich@cia_ (mailto:mich@cia) ,
_Ries@state_ (mailto:Ries@state) , _hil@state_ (mailto:hil@state) ,
_sollaku@_ (mailto:sollaku@m) _ThomasF@fbi_ (mailto:ThomasF@fbi) BCC:
(mailto:Cindy.Coppola@ic.fbi.gov)
CONFIDENTIAL
March 9, 2008
The Hon. Ina Rama
Prosecutor General
Republic of Albania
Tirana, Albania
Your Honor:
Below please find my October 10, 2007 letter to then Prosecutor General Theodori Sollaku describing what I believe constituted a criminal conspiracy of senior Albanian government officials engaged in the sale of ammunition from military stockpiles. An Albanian translation of this letter (see below) was emailed to Sollaku on October 22, 2007; however, he was unable to conduct an investigation due to the fact he was relieved of his duties by President Bamir Topi.
Because you now serve as Albania’s Chief Prosecutor, I am asking you to open an investigation of this matter.
Please be advised that I have submitted this information to various U.S.
government agencies and several members of Congress. As a result, the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) opened a case and dispatched agents to Tirana to commence an investigation which included an interview with Kosta Trebicka. You should be aware that by selling/exporting Chinese manufactured ammunition to supply a U.S. government contract, Albanian government officials may have violated U.S. weapon sales regulations and possibly those of NATO. For this and other reasons, such as allegations that senior Albanian government officials have profited from this deal, it is my understanding that DOD may deem this a criminal investigation.
What brought this issue to my attention was my communication with Kosta Trebicka who alerted me to the fact that Meico, the export arm of Albania’s Ministry of Defense (MOD), forced AEY, an American company seeking to fulfill a $300 million procurement contract on behalf of the U.S. government, to purchase ammunition from Albanian stockpiles at a substantial price mark-up through Evdin, a Cyprus-based company controlled by a Swiss businessman. Meico’s demand that its ammunition sales to AEY be directed through a third party company led Trebicka, who worked as a sub-contractor on this deal, to believe this was being done to provide a mechanism by which corrupt Albanian officials could extract kick-backs. Knowing of Defense Minister Fatmir Mediu’s unexplained accumulation of wealth and his affiliation with known criminals, it was natural for me to suspect there could be substance to Trebicka’s allegations.
You should also be aware that recently, a journalist for a well known
foreign newspaper interviewed Fatmir Mediu at his office in Tirana where he questioned Mediu about NATO and other issues. Mediu was shocked when the journalist began asking questions about Albania’s illegal shipment of Chinese ammunition to Afghanistan. The journalist was accompanied by a local video photographer who he hired to record the interview, so any recorded data that was produced should be considered property of the journalist and his newspaper.
During the interview, when Mediu was first confronted about the Chinese ammunition sales, he denied the entire affair; however, I am told that after Mediu was presented with irrefutable evidence of Meico’s role in the transaction that Mediu subsequently may have made incriminating statements. The day after his interview with Mediu, the journalist left Albania expecting the video photographer to forward the recordings of his interview with Mediu; however, on the day of the journalist’s departure, Mediu sent his goons to the video photographer’s studio and without legal cause, Mediu’s thugs forced themselves into the photographer’s studio and confiscated his camera and computer equipment (there were witnesses to this event). This was nothing less than an obstruction of justice, an illegal trespass and an attempt to suppress free speech, all in the name of the Albanian government. Together, these criminal acts constitute a blatant assault on Albania’s constitution.
Knowing their illegal arms deal was in jeopardy of being exposed, Sali
Berisha and Fatmir Mediu orchestrated a charade to “donate” ammunition to Afghanistan and Iraq. This appears to be little more than a highly transparent attempt to divert attention from efforts to defraud the Albanian and American governments while simultaneously trying to curry favor with the Bush administration. But one of the most heinous aspects of this grand deception is that proceeds from these munitions sales - potentially worth tens of millions of dollars if negotiated through appropriate U.S./NATO structures - could be used
to build Albanian schools or supply desperately needed medical equipment for Albanian hospitals. Instead, Berisha and Mediu may have conspired to use these Albanian military stockpiles to buy their way out of trouble that could threaten their political lives, and this maneuver should be viewed as another in the string of crimes perpetrated by corrupt officials of the Berisha government.
In my possession is a copy of an email from Kosta Trebicka that provides an outline of the events related to this matter. I also have copies of emails between Trebicka and AEY President Diveroli and there is a copy of a May 9 email from Meico Director Pinari to AEY about an ammunition pickup at Rinas Airport that is also copied to Evdin and Trebicka, thereby establishing a link to
Evdin. Also available are copies of supporting documents I received from Trebicka including a contract between AEY and Xhoi (Trebicka’s company), a USG purchase order to AEY and a transcript of what Trebicka represents is a telephone conversation between Diveroli and him. I have sound files of the Diveroli-Trebicka conversation, and I can confirm that it is Trebicka’s voice on the recording; however, I cannot verify Diveroli’s voice, but this can be easily resolved. Among the statements alleged to have been made by Diveroli during this conversation: “Pinari is either a mafia guy or working for the mafia”;
“Pinari needs a guy like Henry (the President of Evdin) in the middle to
take care of him and his buddies (Berisha and Mediu)”; “this deal kept going higher to the prime minister (Berisha) and his son.” Should you express an interest in reviewing this information with the intention of determining if there is a case for indictment, the information can be forwarded to you upon request.
I am requesting your cooperation in notifying me within two days of your receipt of this message of your intentions to pursue an investigation of this matter. If during this time period I do not hear from you with either an affirmative or negative response, or if you do not, at a minimum, indicate to me that you need more time to review the matter and/or if you do not request additional information, I will assume it is because you decided to ignore this case entirely and will proceed accordingly.
When you accepted the position of Prosecutor General you stated that you would remain independent in your deliberations. Now is the time to show the people of Albania you stand behind your words by taking action against those who have committed crimes regardless of their position or party affiliation.
Respectfully,
Gary Q. Kokalari
Subj: AEY/Meico/Evdin/Afghanistan Date: 3/9/2008 11:56:54 P.M. Eastern
Daylight Time From: _GQKokalari_ (mailto:GQKokalari) To: _irama@_
(mailto:irama@l) CC: _darre@doj_ (mailto:darre@doj) , _Cristina@state_
(mailto:Cristina@state) , _michaelr@doj_ (mailto:michaelr@doj) , _mich@cia_ (mailto:mich@cia) ,
_Ries@state_ (mailto:Ries@state) , _hil@state_ (mailto:hil@state) ,
_sollaku@_ (mailto:sollaku@m) _ThomasF@fbi_ (mailto:ThomasF@fbi) BCC:
(mailto:Cindy.Coppola@ic.fbi.gov)
CONFIDENTIAL
March 9, 2008
The Hon. Ina Rama
Prosecutor General
Republic of Albania
Tirana, Albania
Your Honor:
Below please find my October 10, 2007 letter to then Prosecutor General Theodori Sollaku describing what I believe constituted a criminal conspiracy of senior Albanian government officials engaged in the sale of ammunition from military stockpiles. An Albanian translation of this letter (see below) was emailed to Sollaku on October 22, 2007; however, he was unable to conduct an investigation due to the fact he was relieved of his duties by President Bamir Topi.
Because you now serve as Albania’s Chief Prosecutor, I am asking you to open an investigation of this matter.
Please be advised that I have submitted this information to various U.S.
government agencies and several members of Congress. As a result, the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) opened a case and dispatched agents to Tirana to commence an investigation which included an interview with Kosta Trebicka. You should be aware that by selling/exporting Chinese manufactured ammunition to supply a U.S. government contract, Albanian government officials may have violated U.S. weapon sales regulations and possibly those of NATO. For this and other reasons, such as allegations that senior Albanian government officials have profited from this deal, it is my understanding that DOD may deem this a criminal investigation.
What brought this issue to my attention was my communication with Kosta Trebicka who alerted me to the fact that Meico, the export arm of Albania’s Ministry of Defense (MOD), forced AEY, an American company seeking to fulfill a $300 million procurement contract on behalf of the U.S. government, to purchase ammunition from Albanian stockpiles at a substantial price mark-up through Evdin, a Cyprus-based company controlled by a Swiss businessman. Meico’s demand that its ammunition sales to AEY be directed through a third party company led Trebicka, who worked as a sub-contractor on this deal, to believe this was being done to provide a mechanism by which corrupt Albanian officials could extract kick-backs. Knowing of Defense Minister Fatmir Mediu’s unexplained accumulation of wealth and his affiliation with known criminals, it was natural for me to suspect there could be substance to Trebicka’s allegations.
You should also be aware that recently, a journalist for a well known
foreign newspaper interviewed Fatmir Mediu at his office in Tirana where he questioned Mediu about NATO and other issues. Mediu was shocked when the journalist began asking questions about Albania’s illegal shipment of Chinese ammunition to Afghanistan. The journalist was accompanied by a local video photographer who he hired to record the interview, so any recorded data that was produced should be considered property of the journalist and his newspaper.
During the interview, when Mediu was first confronted about the Chinese ammunition sales, he denied the entire affair; however, I am told that after Mediu was presented with irrefutable evidence of Meico’s role in the transaction that Mediu subsequently may have made incriminating statements. The day after his interview with Mediu, the journalist left Albania expecting the video photographer to forward the recordings of his interview with Mediu; however, on the day of the journalist’s departure, Mediu sent his goons to the video photographer’s studio and without legal cause, Mediu’s thugs forced themselves into the photographer’s studio and confiscated his camera and computer equipment (there were witnesses to this event). This was nothing less than an obstruction of justice, an illegal trespass and an attempt to suppress free speech, all in the name of the Albanian government. Together, these criminal acts constitute a blatant assault on Albania’s constitution.
Knowing their illegal arms deal was in jeopardy of being exposed, Sali
Berisha and Fatmir Mediu orchestrated a charade to “donate” ammunition to Afghanistan and Iraq. This appears to be little more than a highly transparent attempt to divert attention from efforts to defraud the Albanian and American governments while simultaneously trying to curry favor with the Bush administration. But one of the most heinous aspects of this grand deception is that proceeds from these munitions sales - potentially worth tens of millions of dollars if negotiated through appropriate U.S./NATO structures - could be used
to build Albanian schools or supply desperately needed medical equipment for Albanian hospitals. Instead, Berisha and Mediu may have conspired to use these Albanian military stockpiles to buy their way out of trouble that could threaten their political lives, and this maneuver should be viewed as another in the string of crimes perpetrated by corrupt officials of the Berisha government.
In my possession is a copy of an email from Kosta Trebicka that provides an outline of the events related to this matter. I also have copies of emails between Trebicka and AEY President Diveroli and there is a copy of a May 9 email from Meico Director Pinari to AEY about an ammunition pickup at Rinas Airport that is also copied to Evdin and Trebicka, thereby establishing a link to
Evdin. Also available are copies of supporting documents I received from Trebicka including a contract between AEY and Xhoi (Trebicka’s company), a USG purchase order to AEY and a transcript of what Trebicka represents is a telephone conversation between Diveroli and him. I have sound files of the Diveroli-Trebicka conversation, and I can confirm that it is Trebicka’s voice on the recording; however, I cannot verify Diveroli’s voice, but this can be easily resolved. Among the statements alleged to have been made by Diveroli during this conversation: “Pinari is either a mafia guy or working for the mafia”;
“Pinari needs a guy like Henry (the President of Evdin) in the middle to
take care of him and his buddies (Berisha and Mediu)”; “this deal kept going higher to the prime minister (Berisha) and his son.” Should you express an interest in reviewing this information with the intention of determining if there is a case for indictment, the information can be forwarded to you upon request.
I am requesting your cooperation in notifying me within two days of your receipt of this message of your intentions to pursue an investigation of this matter. If during this time period I do not hear from you with either an affirmative or negative response, or if you do not, at a minimum, indicate to me that you need more time to review the matter and/or if you do not request additional information, I will assume it is because you decided to ignore this case entirely and will proceed accordingly.
When you accepted the position of Prosecutor General you stated that you would remain independent in your deliberations. Now is the time to show the people of Albania you stand behind your words by taking action against those who have committed crimes regardless of their position or party affiliation.
Respectfully,
Gary Q. Kokalari
The Israel of the Balkans
“All we want is to reduce the Albanian population to a manageable level.” – Zoran Andjelkovic, former Serbian governor of Kosovo
Albania, Kosova, Macedonia: the Triple Alliance for Balkan Stability
Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
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